allah in Malay

[Alexander J. Stein]

Lisa,

This is absolutely correct. In the source language of Islam, Arabic, 
there is no word that distinguishes the God of Christianity, Judaism, 
and Islam. Allah is used by all, and the word in itself is not that 
special. It literally means "The God," as opposed the indefinite 
/ilaah/. It has its roots in the polytheistic deities of Arabia. For 
more information on the word itself, see: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah. Beyond linguistics, it is the belief 
in Islam that these religions all follow the same God and each religion 
has been a succession in the prophecy, hence the name for the prior 
monotheistic faiths, People of the Book (/Ahl Al-Kitaab/). So, this row 
makes very little sense linguistically, theologically, or even logically.

_AJS


L Pierce wrote:
> I am unable to translate this, but I do know that in
> other countries that have both Muslims and Christians
> the word for God for both religions is Allah.
>
> Lisa
>
> --- Dennis Baron <debaron at uiuc.edu> wrote:
>
>   
>> Here are the two entries from the Kamus Dewan, the
>> official Malay  
>> dictionary.  Can anyone on the list translate?  I'd
>> appreciate  
>> knowing whether the reference is general,
>> Islam-specific, or not  
>> really specified:
>>
>> 958.
>> 	allah 	Ar Tuhan (Yg Esa); ~ azzawajalla Tuhan Yg
>> Maha Baik dan Maha  
>> Mulia; ~ subhanahu wa taala terpujilah Tuhan yg Maha
>> Tinggi; kerana ~  
>> a) oleh kehendak Allah; b) dgn percuma (utk mendapat
>> pahala sahaja);
>>
>> 959.
>> 	allah 	dibuat kerana ~ menjadi murka ~ prb
>> dilakukan dgn maksud  
>> baik, disangka orang kurang baik (menjadi tidak
>> baik).
>>
>> url: http://www.karyanet.com.my/knet/index.php? 
>>
>>     
> tpf=kamus_Dewan&hurufff=a&sid=b81b3324d727c518197849ff79eae8c4&find=Cari
>   
>> &pagenum=96
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Dennis (aka Denesh)
>>
>>
>> Dennis Baron
>> Professor of English and Linguistics
>> Department of English
>> University of Illinois
>> 608 S. Wright St.
>> Urbana, IL 61801
>>
>> office: 217-244-0568
>> fax: 217-333-4321
>>
>> www.uiuc.edu/goto/debaron
>>
>> read the Web of Language:
>> www.uiuc.edu/goto/weboflanguage
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
>
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